Columbia, SC - Eau Claire Cooperative Health Centers, Inc. (ECCHC) is pleased to announce that Five Points Pediatrics has met the required standards and criteria to be recognized as a Patient-Center Medical Home (PCMH) practice. The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) awarded Five Points Pediatrics a Level 3 designation, the highest level of recognition. With this highly sought after designation, the first for ECCHC, Five Points Pediatrics becomes the only recognized pediatric practice in the state of South Carolina. This recognition is valid for a period of three years, February 2, 2013 thru February 2, 2016.

NCQA recognized clinicians at Five Points Pediatrics include Kiki Lofton, MD, FAAP, Monica McCutcheon, MD, FAAP, and Mary Kayse, PNP-BC. According to NCQA, these providers have demonstrated that they meet important standards of patient care.

As defined by NCQA, PCMH is a health care setting that facilitates partnerships between individual patients, and their personal physicians, and when appropriate, the patient’s family. Care is facilitated by registries, information technology, health information exchange and other means to assure that patients get the indicated care when and where they need and want it in a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner.

"This designation makes Five Points Pediatrics and its providers stand out from the crowd. PCMH recognition is the standard for health care in the future. It lets our patients know that we are serious about patient-centered care. Here at ECCHC, we strive for clinical and service excellence. We want to exceed our patients’ expectations, foster positive changes in their experiences, and become the medical provider of choice. Our business is providing the highest quality health care possible. This designation builds upon our mission of and commitment to providing comprehensive, high quality compassionate medical care in the spirit of the Good Samaritan," says Dr. Stuart A. Hamilton, MD, Chief Executive Officer of ECCHC.

NCQA is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving health and certifies a wide range of health care organizations and recognizes physicians in key clinical areas.

ECCHC, Inc. was founded in 1981 and was organized as a private, non-profit corporation on December 14, 1992. ECCHC provides comprehensive primary care, dental, behavioral health, OB/GYN, podiatry, X-Ray, and pharmacy services to more than 40,000 unduplicated patients in rural and urban geographies within four counties in the Midlands of South Carolina.